Pfizer-BioNTech Report First Long-Term Study Results for COVID-19 Vaccine

On April 1, Pfizer-BioNTech released results from the longest study yet of their COVID-19 vaccine. In a release, the companies reported that their two-dose vaccine was 91.3% efficacious in protecting people from COVID-19 disease for up to six months. The companies’ previous data, which led to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) emergency use authorization, included an average of two months of follow up of the study participants and showed 95% efficacy against the disease. The longer-term data will form the basis of Pfizer-BioNTech’s planned request to the FDA for formal approval of the vaccine soon. “It is an important step to further confirm the strong efficacy and good safety data we have seen so far, especially in a longer-term follow-up,” said Ugur Sahin, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech, of the results. The data, involving nearly 12,000 people who have been followed for at least six months after vaccination, also showed the two-dose shot was 100% efficacious in protecting them from severe disease as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (which means any disease requiring hospitalization, intensive care or a ventilator) and 95% efficacious in protecting against severe disease by the FDA’s broader definition, which includes any respiratory distress or shortness of breath at rest, or oxygen saturation below 93%. The companies also reported encouraging results on the vaccine’s ability to protect against the worriso...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news